Green and sustainable extraction of lignin by deep eutectic solvent, its antioxidant activity, and applications in the food industry

Abstract

Lignin, an amorphous biomacromolecule abundantly distributed in the plant kingdom, has gained considerable attention due to its intrinsic bioactivities and renewable nature. Owing to its polyphenolic structure, lignin has a variety of human health activities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antitumor, and other activities. The extraction of lignin from various sources in a green and sustainable manner is critical in the food industry. Deep eutectic solvent (DES) has recently been recognized as a class of safe and environmentally friendly media capable of efficiently extracting lignin. This article comprehensively reviews the recent advances in lignin extraction using DES, discusses the influential factors on the antioxidant activity of lignin, interprets the relationship between antioxidant activity and lignin structure, and overviews the applications of lignin in the food industry. We aim to highlight the advantages of DES in lignin extraction and valorization from the nutrition and food views.

Keywords:

• Lignin
• deep eutectic solvent
• human health activities
• antioxidant activity
• food application

Additional information

Funding

The authors are grateful for the support provided by the General Project of Natural Science Research in Colleges and Universities of Jiangsu (21KJB550010), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072174), and the Key Research and Development Plan of Jiangsu (BE2020776).